


Five times Allison Hargreeves didn't use her power, and one time she did.

by barbiejedi



Category: The Umbrella Academy (Comics)
Genre: F/M, Not Canon Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-07
Updated: 2019-02-07
Packaged: 2019-10-24 02:12:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17695643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/barbiejedi/pseuds/barbiejedi
Summary: The times when Allisondoesn'tuse her powers are more important than the times she does.





	Five times Allison Hargreeves didn't use her power, and one time she did.

**Author's Note:**

> Once upon a million years ago, I read and really loved The Umbrella Academy-- especially The Rumor. Puzzling out her powers and when she chooses to use them fascinates me; I'm really hoping that the Netflix series explores it a little more and does her justice. (I don't know where I got the idea that she has a robot arm. Probably from a coloring mistake.)
> 
> Originally written August 19, 2009, after Apocolypse Suite but before Dallas, so no spoilers for anything later. Reposted from livejournal.
> 
> EDIT: Okay, between the Netflix series and Hotel Oblivion, this is _definitely_ not canon compliant (although I was right about the robot arm!!), so I've added that tag. Thinking about writing another version of this after taking all the new stuff into account... but that won't be for a while.

**1\. Her arm.**  
She's eight years old, and a man has eaten her arm.

He calls himself Dr. Terminal. He's got a disease, one that's eating him from the inside. Spaceboy's plan of attack called for Rumor to sneak inside and report on the situation, after which the team would tailor an appropriate response and attack. Easy peasy pumpkin pie.

But after beating the Lincoln Memorial she'd been overconfident, and the Terminauts had stunned her and when she'd woken up there'd been a gag in her mouth and Dr. Terminal himself was monologuing an evil plan and there was something _wrong_ a warm wetness down her left side and when she'd moved her fingers to check _her fingers hadn't moved_ and she looked and _her arm was gone_.

She hadn't cried, couldn't because the idea was absurd her _arm_ and there was a gag in her mouth and she couldn't speak couldn't scream couldn't call for Luthor and the others couldn't use her powers couldn't _anything_ and then all of a sudden there was a CRASH as Luthor punched through the wall calling her name and telling her to hold on.

After the fighting is over and they're back home again, when Mother is tending to the scrapes and cuts and bruises, Allison says "I heard you had a robot arm that will fit me" and of course there is one and it does. A robot arm, because Dr. Terminal had said his robots would be back, when she and her brothers are adults, and Allison doesn't want to forget. 

Next time, she's going to be ready.

 

 **2\. The Horror.**  
When Ben died, the team broke apart-- the easy familiarity with which the five of them had worked was gone. Back in the beginning, there had been seven; Father, seeing Vanya's lack of potential, pulled her off first, before they'd even fought their first national monument. The Boy disappeared not long after. But this... this was different. Ben had _died_ , and everyone (okay, _Diego_ ) had blamed Luthor for not being able to save him, for not realizing that they'd been led into a trap, and for leaving Ben behind. Relationships had been strained for a long time, everyone drifting apart as they grew up and discovered interests outside of Father's plans. Ben's death was the last nail in the coffin, and the funeral was the last the five of them saw each other for a very long time.

Allison could have changed things. It would have been easy-- "I heard Ben found that escape pod and has been on the moon waiting for us to pick him up." But she didn't. She went to the funeral and cried, mascara running prettily down her cheeks, hoping that Luthor would try to comfort her.

He didn't.

 

 **3\. Divorce.**  
What was she thinking, when she married Patrick? She was thinking that maybe she could have a normal life, be a normal person with a normal husband and a normal daughter.

But Patrick didn't want a normal life. He wanted The Rumor. Hell, that's who he'd thought he was getting when he married her-- always asking her about her powers, trying to get her to change things. _What's wrong with it?_ he'd asked. _Just say "I heard the cleaning lady came today." The house is a mess._ But he didn't understand-- it wasn't that easy. If she started again, said just one more thing that wasn't true... where would it stop? It would mean the end of her perfect, normal life.

But it just wasn't meant to be. She could have changed that, too-- told the lawyers that Patrick had changed his mind, and there would be no divorce. But then, he would have won.

 

 **4\. Custody of her daughter.**  
The worst part was, she got the feeling he was baiting her, trying to get her to do exactly what she was refusing to do. When she didn't contest the divorce, he sued for custody of Claire, and the house, and everything.

Allison didn't fight it. If that's what he wanted, he could have them all. At least that way, Claire had a chance at a normal childhood.

 

 **5\. Vanya.**  
She had opened her mouth, ready to say the words that would end the whole thing here and now, forever-- "I heard a rumor that you never were any good at the violin anyway" -- but Vanya is quicker than Allison's words and they're cut off before the fifth gets out, a bowstring slice across her vocal chords that nicks the carotid artery and sprays blood in a pulsing red arc, blood that spills down her costume before she can get her own hands over the wound, blood that gets on Luthor's hands when he scoops her up like a child cradling a cricket and sprints to the hospital.

 

 **1\. Spaceboy**  
Allison can't believe she's doing this. Out on patrol with Luthor, just like the good old days. She's not sure which part is more surprising-- that she can still fit into her costume after thirteen years and a pregnancy, or that she didn't feel dressed until she had the mask on as well. 

And somehow, the night, the rooftop, the costumes, the coffee... it feels like old times again. It gives them a bit of time to relax away from the others, to catch up on the past decade of each other's lives. Allison tries to tell him about her pursuit of normalcy, and is frustrated when he turns the conversation again and again to powers and "heroism." She calls him on it, and is taken aback by his reply: _Look at me_. 

And... he's right. How can a man with a human head on the body of an eight-foot gorilla ever have a normal life? She's almost sorry for rubbing his nose in hers... almost. When she read about the accident, she'd waited for him to contact her and ask for help, to find some way of fixing him. But he hadn't, and so neither had she.

She's realized years ago that no matter how much she loved him, he would never love her, not in the same way. But then he said something, something that might have been a challenge when they were younger but now was just a question. And against her better judgment, she answered: "You know, Space... I heard a rumor that you've wanted to kiss me since you were eight years old."

His eyes widened and Allison saw the truth take hold, waiting for him to realize what she'd done and push her away. There was always choice-- just because he'd now been in love with her for more than twenty years didn't mean he had to act on it. 

He did.


End file.
